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Saturday, June 18, 2016

If it sounds like an owl, and the hooting is coming from outside, it might be an owl - or it might be Dad. Earlier this week, at about 10:30 pm, my daughter came downstairs to ask where Daddy was. "In the shower," I replied.
"Oh, then there might be an owl in the tree outside. I heard the hooting and thought it might be Dad rehearsing his lines for a play, and I was going to ask him to stop so I could go to sleep," she told me.
The thing about this exchange that made us laugh is that, in our family, the chance that someone was sitting on the porch at 10:30 at night, practicing owl sounds, was not at all out of the question. I went in to let my husband know there was an owl in the tree, and he promptly hooted from the shower in exactly the timbre of the bird outside!
The three of us spent about half an hour listening to the owl, and trying to see it (no success). My husband had a "conversation" with it, hooting back and forth with the owl before heading in. We guessed it was a Great Horned Owl and later listened to sound samples and determined that it was indeed a male of the species.
If you are interested, this website has some wonderful recordings of various owl calls. Just click the link here ---> Owl calls

Thursday, June 16, 2016

I am waiting for the day when I actually have time to do everything I need to get done, and actually plan for the things I want to do. Here is the quick summer catch up:

* Our daughter made Dean's List for the Spring semester. Very proud parents!
* Our daughter was working at the local cinema for three weeks, and she got a job at a fancy camp in PA as a counsellor, so she leaves tomorrow for 8 weeks. Not thrilled that she is heading off again - our youngest is not happy at all, but, the money they are paying is 3 times what she could make at the cinema, so off to PA!
* Drew and I opened "Stella and Lou" at Chenango River Theatre about three weeks ago. He was the director, I was the costume designer.
* Monday we have first read for the next show of the summer season, "Last Gas" by John Cariani. Drew has the lead role in this one, and I will be designing costumes again. Monday's first read may be interesting, as our youngest is getting four teeth extracted that day, and may need to come to the beginning of rehearsal since his sister will be inPA - ah, life is never a straight line around here - just a series of figure eights!
* I recently was in the Port Jefferson Long Island area for a visit with my wonderful Aunt Gerry and Uncle Tom, and then to visit and celebrate with my "aunt/cousins by love not blood" as Aunt Georgie turned 80! What a wonderful visit, especially the extra day I spent at my mom's!
* I finally got the garden in at the farm - mostly squashes this year with a few peas and beans. Tomatoes do not want to grow there, so I put them in the raised bed across from my asparagus bed at the house.
* Our many sheep are growing - we have several rams to sell - gorgeous boys, and very sweet tempered, but they are repeat genetics as I have all their sires' genes living in the next pen! Please contact me if you need a ram or two. Really.
* Working on another show - for the university, for fall. Not thrilled with the timing of this, as I have another theatre obligation that I was contracted for first, but this year there was a lot of talk and no action about who was designing what, and in a very non-democratic way, I was told what two shows I would do. Not asked... and both are not good with my other schedule. Due to the dragging of feet, discussions could not begin about the show while we were still in session, so we are meeting now. I am also doing the musical for the second year in a row - not the way work had been balanced out in the past. I do not even have a contract for this first show!
* Got to attend the Costume Society of America's National Symposium in Cleveland this year. Great people and some amazing scholarship. I am hoping to present at this coming year's Symposium, and there are three other scholars and I who are planning a panel presentation/discussion for the following year.
* Building a website for the farm. I will let everyone know when it is mostly done - I do not think it will ever not be a work in progress!

Have to get back to helping my child finish packing.
As Tigger would say, "TTFN!"